Making the Most of your Mocks

As mock exams in the UK commence, many pupils face the daunting task of cramming and revising in trial for their final GCSE and A-Level exams later in the year. Undoubtedly, there is a degree of anxiety that is associated with revision and exam season. As such, MyTutor – the UK’s most trusted tutoring platform – has compiled their top ten tips on how to enter the exam season with the tools and skills needed to tackle mocks:

Revise
Despite the temptation to ‘just wing it’, this method is not a fail-safe way to pass exams. In fact, you will be saving yourself time in the future by preparing revision notes and cards earlier so that the task seems less daunting when you approach them again. The more you prepare now, the less you have to do later

Reflect on your revision technique
Use this time to experiment and find out which methods of studying are more effective to you. There is no one way to revise, so now is a good time to evaluate how best you learn and adjust accordingly.

Timing is key
Getting used to how long it takes to complete a paper or write an essay is key to understanding how long you ought to be spending on a certain question. Doing past papers under timed conditions is great practice for acclimatising to exam settings.

Familiarise yourself with the questions
Do some digging to find out what kind of questions the papers will ask. For example, if they are requiring evidence from specific case studies? Is it asking for more than one example or specific, tailored responses.

Understand what they are asking you
There are certain buzzwords in exam questions that require different responses. For instance, ‘examine’ ‘describe’ ‘assess’ ‘evaluate’ ‘discuss’ which are important to be mindful of before answering the question. You may want to spend some time practising these various responses with a teacher or tutor to get confident.

Feedback is important
Taking the time to read where you went wrong is crucial. There is no better way to improve than to ask for help, and to learn from your mistakes. Not only this, but it will help you get to know the exam technique.

Study the mark scheme
The good thing about mocks is that they tend to be past exam papers, this usually means there will be existing mark schemes that you can access online or via your teachers. This is a useful way to compare your answers to what is expected of you in the exam.

Re-testing
Once you’ve taken some time to analyse where you may have gone wrong, and have studied the mark scheme – give the question another crack! This will consolidate your learning and ensure you have properly understood where you previously went wrong.

Refrain from comparing results
Although it is tempting to ask your peers what they scored on essays and papers, more often than not, it doesn’t benefit you for the real exam. Risking having your confidence knocked will only set you back!

Remember, it isn’t the end of the world
If you are somewhat disheartened by your mock exam results, just remember, this isn’t the real thing! There is a lot of pressure surrounding exams, and getting your desired grade straight away but if you don’t, you reconsider your approach and try again. Be mindful to look after yourself, give yourself frequent breaks and and don’t give up- the point of mocks is that you still have time to improve, and with hard work and dedication, this really is possible.

Bertie Hubbard, co-founder of MyTutor, comments on how the platform aims to tackle exam anxiety:

“Teens are in more need than ever for some support and reassurance with their studies, and that’s exactly what our tutors offer. Our tutors are all from UK universities, and because they’re just a few years older they can easily relate to what teens are going through. With their dedicated one-to-one support, teens get some much-needed reassurance and come out with a stronger self-belief – 88% say that lessons made them feel more confident.

Rather than replacing teachers with robots, the biggest power of EdTech lies in enhancing person-to-person learning. At MyTutor, we provide online tuition that raises kids’ grades, boosts confidence and helps them fulfil their potential in life. Because it’s online, kids get access to amazing tutors from across the country, rather than whoever’s nearby. As there’s no travel for the student or the tutors, it also saves time and money travelling – reducing the cost and stress involved for parents.”